To Be Good
by Endless Secrets
Summary: On the way home after a disastrous attempt at being good, Tobey ponders his actions...


**Okay, I have now officially written two oneshots! Here's my second one; I'm not all that pleased with it, since it seemed a little OOC for Tobey. Hopefully I'll do better next time… ;)**

**Anyways, this oneshot takes place just after the end of the episode "Tobey Goes Good". I was really intrigued by Tobey's weird behavior, and decided to write a little post-episode pondering on his part. I hope ya like it! :) **

_**-x-x-x-x-**_

"Violet, we would like to present to you _another _first-place trophy…"

Tobey groaned in fury, shouting as he was pushed into the police car: "Ugh, that's just salt to the wound!"

He ground his teeth furiously, clenching his hands into angry fists as the car door slammed shut with a final-sounding _thump_. And just as suddenly as he had been surrounded by shouts and cheers and cries, Tobey was enveloped in a brief cloak of silence. The outside world, filled with the triumphant (and lovely) Wordgirl, enthusiastic Violet, cheerful judges and general merrymaking at his defeat had at last been muted. He was alone.

Almost.

The front door opened again, and the policeman clambered back into the driver's seat, whistling a stupid tune as he turned the key in the ignition and started up the car. He hit the gas with an infuriating smile, and they were off, speeding away from the site of destruction not quite fast enough for Tobey's liking.

With a quiet moan, the boy genius slouched down in his seat, crossing his arms firmly over his chest and not even attempting to continue his previously over-the-top rant about how he'd exact his revenge –one way or another. Instead he bit his lip to keep from crying again, and stared blankly at the seat in front of him as his foolish acts of kindness replayed themselves over and over again in his head.

How could he have thought that it would work? How could he _possibly _have imagined that his sudden switch from bad to good would be enough to win over Wordgirl? That by entering a competition and making no effort to cheat would at long last capture the heart of the famed superhero (who had taken him down more times than he cared to admit)? When the idea, foolish yet plausible at the time, had first pushed its way into his head and overpowered his other thoughts, success had seemed the only outcome; even though he was no stranger to complete failure, Tobey had forced himself to focus only on victory. Catastrophe was not an option.

But how could he have been so… so _stupid_? It would never have worked; he should have seen it coming. She was far too suspicious of him, far too sharp to see that in the end Tobey would fall off the track –and he had.

Stupid tears, there they were again, pushing at the corners of his eyes and making the world blurry until everything was a mishmash of formless colors. With a sharp intake of breath at their sudden arrival, Tobey hurriedly brushed the offending droplets away before the officer could see them; and he would if he chose that moment to look in the mirror.

"I was just trying to be good!" Tobey sighed dejectedly, letting his head drop forward until it met the firm resistance of the passenger seat, and his glasses slip up until they were pressed uncomfortably against his forehead. His yellow-blond locks trailed up the leather as his head sank lower and lower during its journey down the back of the seat, and pretty soon he was staring sadly at the floor of the car, observing with distaste the Snappy-Snap crumbs cluttering up the corners near the door.

"Just trying to be the good guy for once…" he muttered, as the policeman turned slightly in his seat to look at the babbling villain.

"What a strange kid," Tobey heard him mumble to himself, eyeing the depressed genius nervously. Then, louder, as if announcing that Tobey had just won the lottery: "We're here! Your mom is waiting for you; she got back from her business trip early, it seems."

Tobey groaned loudly, raising his head slightly from the seat as the car pulled to a stop in front of his house so that he could see the angry form of his mother, filling the doorway and fuming. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

The officer smiled, feeling more comfortable now that his charge was under someone else's care, and he didn't have to worry about a freak tantrum.

"Well," he said cheerfully, climbing out of the car with a relieved smile, "maybe you should try being a good boy instead of a bad one."

Tobey wanted to strangle him.

Another obnoxious tune issuing from his mouth in short, dry bouts of whistling, the policeman walked around to Tobey's side and opened the door with a sharp click. It opened smoothly, so smoothly that it only took a millisecond before Tobey got a full view of his livid mother as she stormed furiously down the front walk towards the police cruiser, smoke practically exploding from her ears.

He sighed. Things just weren't going well today.

_**-x-x-x-x-**_

**And there you have it! I know it was a little choppy with the transitions (and probably more than a little OOC^^), but maybe it's still worth a review?**

**I hope it was enjoyable. :) Thanks for reading, and please review! I'd be really grateful! (I'm out of cookies, sadly… how about brownies? ^_^)**


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